The house has been un-decorated… mostly. I got about 80% through that job and then had to shift my attention to my daughter’s birthday party. As a result, most things are down but you’ll suddenly notice there’s a sign on the the wall that says “Merry and Bright” or pick up a spatula in the kitchen with a Christmas gnome on it. Meanwhile, the things that are down are not quite properly put away… I have some rearranging to do before I can get all the bins back in the closet. SIGH.
I thought I would finish the house Grinch-ing after the party, but the problem is, once you get behind, it’s really hard to get caught up. Because now there are new things to do, like clean up the party debris and fresh loads of laundry. The messes keep piling up! Tomorrow we leave on a short trip to Tampa, so I’m consumed with trip prep. I’ll have to finish the Christmas job next week.
The cards are still up and I’m enjoying them. As a matter of fact, a client just gave me a card on Saturday! I was able to tell her I would add it to my display.
Each card is like a little work of art- I love it.
Remember the grab bag present for work, where I had to get a generic gift for a mystery co-worker? Well, I tried. But without knowing the rules of this exchange (would we be able to steal gifts from one another, like a white elephant exchange?) it seemed impossible. My sister advised me that alcohol-related gifts were always popular where she worked, but I know at least two of my colleagues don’t drink. I finally gave up and got a mug, a Starbucks gift card, and a little single-serving size bag of holiday-flavored coffee.
This gift exchange was so disorganized, we didn’t end up getting our gifts until New Year’s Eve. We couldn’t get everyone together at one time so I was just told to go take a gift. I chose one that was wrapped the nicest…
And it turned out to be…
A mini ice cream maker! Now THAT is a great gift! I never would have gotten this for myself (or known that it existed, actually) but I can make my own ice cream any crazy way I want- with oatmilk and one of my alternative sweeteners, perhaps. I haven’t used it yet, but I will next week. It made me feel a little bad about the gift I gave- it wasn’t a BAD gift, but I really could have been more creative.
Even though there are those random remnants of Christmas around my house, I’ve moved on. The holidays are over, and I accept it. Now I’m looking forward to our Tampa trip! We’re going to see some old friends, I’m going to find a cool trail to run on, and of course we’ll hear my daughter play in the All-State band- the main reason for our trip.
What’s the latest gift or card you received?
Are all your Christmas decorations put away?
33 Responses
That is a unique gift!! Love it.
We had a grab bag exchange too. A lot of great gifts but I had a low number so I picked a kitchen towel & small bottle of champagne… neither used. And no one wanted to steal. I bought a hand made soap dish and pretty soap. (it’s all women at the party).
I put away my cards and left the snowmen around… maybe until spring. They make me happy.
I think you summed it up perfectly- if something makes you happy, like your snowmen and my cards- then leave it up as long as you want!
At least your party was all women, which made it a little easier. So you got the towel and champagne? It seems like you could save the champagne and take it out someday for a special occasion.
Honestly, I would have preferred your Starbucks gift to an ice cream maker, so I think you did a great job!
I still have our little artificial tree up in the basement (mostly because I just don’t feel like taking it down) and my husband asked me yesterday: I don’t care, but I am curious – is there a timeline on when the tree comes down? To which I responded: No.
I have no plan, but did think about buying some little hearts from the DollarStore and making it a February/Valentine’s tree? We also have a few non-Christmas festive things up like a wreath on our front door, the evergreen (faux) garland on our mantle and some faux red berries on the light about our table. That’s about it and I think all those things will stay up for at least another month.
My Christmas cards have been put away (I keep the fronts to serve as lux tags the next year and my FAVOURITE tag for Christmas 2023 is definitely going to be the most adorable card ever sporting an adorable hamster on the front courtesy of…YOU <3), and I just put my last Christmas spatula into the Christmas tote – mine is a penguin with a fluffy hat; now I'm itching for one with a Christmas gnome on it!
Hope the trip to Tampa is lovely!!
Thank you Elisabeth! And no- there is NO timeline for taking down the tree! (Unless of course you had a real tree like we did- but the one you’re talking about is artificial.) I think making it into a Valentine’s tree would be fun!
Sigh, I will miss the Christmas posts, but I guess it is time. We’ve got everything put away except for the odd thing here and there that we’ve forgotten and will get to sometime.
Picking a gift based on the wrapping is the way to go! Gift cards are always in style, but the ice cream maker is a genius idea. There’s a ton of small kitchen stuff like that out there.
Yes, if I do this gift exchange next year (I’m thinking they’ll change the format because it was so problematic this time) I’m going to try and be more creative with my gift.
I have most things away, but I can’t get the Christmas tree in the closet, so it sits in its bag on the floor until I can deal with it.
I just bought myself a new pair of Brooks and some Brooks tops. That’s my most recent gift.
Those are good gifts!
Your issue sounds like mine- things are almost put away but not quite. But if it’s only the tree, that’s not so bad.
Talking about last Christmas things – what makes me really sad is seeing all the discarded Christmas trees next to the dumpsters. They’ve grown for years, been used for a few days and now they’re simply thrown away.
What a waste of precious resources! There must be a better way.
Now you have so many months to look forward to the next winter season! That’s the best part, right? 🙂
Yes- I was VERY sad to see our Christmas tree out by the trash! It was such a good tree! i was actually talking to it and telling it how much we loved it- hopefully none of the neighbors overheard me.
🤣😂🤣
Everything is definitely down in our house. I’m also going through every closet and tote and decluttering (being unemployed has its advantages, I guess), so our house is looking pretty good, except that every time I clean a closet, I find huge dust bunnies and it’s somehow impossible to clean them all and so if you look closely at our house, you’ll see them all over the place. *sigh* It’s a problem of my own making – I purposefully chose to have a dog and a cat – but how do people have spotless floors?!
I don’t think I’ve gotten any gifts since Christmas, but I did get a thank you note yesterday from someone I worked with at our local community center, along with a Tupperware container I had used to bring cookies to her house. I had forgotten about that Tupperware, so it seemed a little bit like a gift!
Well just so you know, our floors are never spotless. If that makes you feel any better!
Oh man– now I want a mini ice cream maker. And I think your gift is terrific– who WOULDN’T like that??
I’ll let you know how the mini ice cream maker works out! And i’m hoping my gift was vague enough to appeal to almost anyone.
Hearing your daughter play in the all state band sounds very exciting to me. I hope you will enjoy your trip!
I just get another card yesterday and we also received another package from a friend in Germany. It was a Tipp-Kick game. It’s like a table top soccer game where you have buttons on the player’s head that will move the leg. There is one player and one goal keeper on each team and the boys already finished their first match. There is still one package from Germany coming (if it ever makes it). The last I saw it was sitting in a box at Frankfurt airport just before Christmas – this is exactly the reason why I am so weary of sending packages…
Yes, I guess if things are being shipped internationally they might be a little late! That game sounds like it would be really fun for the kids.
I also would prefer your gift to that ice cream maker! That is a clever, fun gift but I do not envision myself using something like that! So don’t feel bad about what you gave! You did great!
I took Christmas down on January 2nd when the boys were at school and Phil was at work. I was so happy to get our house back in order. There are a few things I missed that I need to take down to our storage room. We do not do much in terms of decorating so it is easy to take Christmas down.
We did Christmas with my MIL on NYE weekend so that is the last gift I opened. We got a new year card last week and I think that is probably the last of the holiday cards. Womp womp.
Okay, that’s good to know. I still don’t know who got my gift- hopefully they feel the same way you do!
I think your gift sounds very nice! I would very much enjoy a holiday mug and gift card!
I have an ice cream maker and it’s wonderful. I use it all the time and I generally have no fewer than four flavours of homemade ice cream in the freezer at any given time. Love it! I’m sure you’ll love yours as well.
Yes, I’m excited and so is my husband. He actually unpacked it before me and is eagerly awaiting the first batch.
I think the gift you gave sounds perfect — anyone can use it! But wow that mini ice cream maker is cute! Please report back!
I will! You’ll hear all about it.
Oh wow, what a fun gift to get. I hope it works well (you just never know about those things!). I avoid gift exchanges for that reason – it’s stresses me out thinking that my gift isn’t good enough. Some people at work go overboard and make me look bad 🫤
I am going to start taking our Xmas stuff down tomorrow!
Have a great trip! How fun to see her band play!!
I love gift exchanges, but this one was stressful. However, some of the gifts were way worse than mine (IMO) like a gift card from the grocery store. Hmmm…
My Christmas tree is still up – haha. Not sure yet when I am going to take it down.
A single serve ice-cream maker is genius. I am curious how well it works. Please report back.
BTW, I think you did great with the information that you had – I’d never scoff at a mug, a SB giftcard, or coffee 😉
I agree that I wouldn’t scoff at my present either- but I also wouldn’t open it up and exclaim in surprise and pleasure. But maybe that’s expecting a little too much for this type of gift exchange.
What a creative gift and glad you nabbed that! Having said that though – I personally would have loved your gift too! I’m a sucker for mugs AND Starbucks (or our equivalent here) gift cards.
I can’t believe I’m saying this – BUT it is the 17 Jan and my Christmas decor is still all up including the tree!!!!! I usually have everything down around the 6/7th but I’ve focused on revamping my daughter’s room which took all my spare time and energy. It will all go down over the next three days (hopefully!)
Ha ha… I STILL have some stuff up (not on purpose) and it’s getting ridiculous. I really have to buckle down this weekend and get it all put away.
I like both of those gifts! I am always happy to get a Starbucks gift card and a fun mug. And the ice cream maker is also a fun gift! I’m excited to see how you use it.
I will let you know! I haven’t had a chance yet, but it’s sitting there, waiting for me.
Wow what a great gift you have picked. I would have enjoyed that too. But I already own an ice cream maker.
I am sure someone will enjoy the gift you picked out too.
I STILL haven’t used the ice cream maker! It’s just sitting here- I need to start making ice cream.